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Panzer III Medium Tank
The Panzer III was a German tank used during World War Two. It was first produced in the mid-late 1930s. It had a 50mm gun (early models had a 37mm gun) and 5-70mm of armor. Between the two tanks (the other being the panzer IV) the panzer III was the one that hunted down and destroyed enemy tanks. But by the time the Panzer IV was up gunned with a longer 75mm gun the panzer III was obsolete and was taken from front lines service and put into academies as a training tank. The last model was the Asuf N and was given a short 75mm gun (the one that was mounted on early panzer IV) Models Panzer III Ausf. A - Prototype; only 8 armed and saw service in Poland. Armed with 3.7 cm KwK 36 L/46.5 main gun, 250 PS HL 108 engine. Panzer III Ausf. B - Prototype; some saw service in Poland. Panzer III Ausf. C - Prototype; some saw service in Poland. Panzer III Ausf. D - Prototype; some saw service in Poland and Norway. Panzer III Ausf. E - Suspension redesigned, switching from leaf-springs to torsion-bars, now using 6 larger roadwheels per side. 300 PS HL 120 engine. Panzer III Ausf. F - improved Ausf. E, first mass-production version, late production armed with 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 main gun. Panzer III Ausf. G - More armour on gun mantlet. Armed with 3.7 cm KwK 36 L/46.5 (later 5 cm KwK 38 L/42) gun. Panzer III Ausf. H - 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 as standard gun. Bolt-on armor added to front and rear hull (30 mm + 30 mm plates). Panzer III Ausf. I - Variant mentioned in Allied intelligence reports but not an actual existing vehicle. Possible confusion with Ausf. J. Panzer III Ausf. J - Hull and turret front armour increased to solid 50 mm plate. Some were produced with 5 cm KwK 39 L/60 gun and later redesignated Ausf. L. Panzer III Ausf. K - Panzerbefehlswagen command tank variant with a modified turret. Carried actual main armament rather than a dummy gun as found on other Panzer III command versions. Panzer III Ausf. L - Redesignated Aus. J equipped with long 5cm gun, 20 mm stand-off armor plates on hull and turret front Panzer III Ausf. M - Minor modifications of the ausf. L such as deep-wading exhaust and Schürzen side-armor panels. Panzer III Ausf. N - Infantry support tank, armed with a short barreled 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 gun. Specs Panzerkampfwagen III *Type:Medium tank *Place of origin:Nazi Germany *In service:1939–1945 *Used by:Nazi Germany Kingdom of Romania Slovak Republic Kingdom of Hungary Independent State of Croatia Turkey Norway *Number built:5,774 (excluding StuG III) *Weight:23.0 tonnes (25.4 short tons) *Length:5.56 m (20 ft) *Width:2.90 m (9 ft 6 in) *Height/2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) *Crew/5 *Armor/5–70 mm (0.20–2.76 in) *armament: 1 × 3.7 cm KwK 36 Ausf. A-F 1 × 5 cm KwK 38 Ausf. F-J 1 × 5 cm KwK 39 Ausf. J¹-M 1 × 7.5 cm KwK 37 Ausf. N 2–3 × 7.92 mm machine gun34 *Engine :296 hp *range:155 km (96 mi) *Speed:Road: 40 km/h (25 mph) *Off-road: 20 km/h (12 mph)